


Basic, Boring, Bland

by crackerjackermackeral



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Drama, Enemies to Friends, Extra Tsundere Hinata Hajime, Gen, Hajime the Hedgehog, Humor, Komaeda Nagito Being Komaeda Nagito, Tired Hinata Hajime, Tsundere Hinata Hajime, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23110420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crackerjackermackeral/pseuds/crackerjackermackeral
Summary: "Now, then, it's your turn.""Yeah... I'm Hinata Hajime.""Then let me ask you a question: What is your Ultimate talent?""Oh, I'm not an Ultimate student. I'm from the Reserve Course."In which Hajime remembers a bit more about himself and regrets ever telling Komaeda about it. He should have just said that he has amnesia.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Komaeda Nagito
Comments: 61
Kudos: 317





	1. Chapter 1

"Oh, I'm not an Ultimate student. I'm from the Reserve Course."

The second those words had left his lips, Hajime watched as Komaeda's smile fall. All traces of friendliness were wiped away, now replaced with an expression of disdain. Taken aback by the abrupt shift in the other boy's demeanor, Hajime couldn't help but flinch. Komaeda sneered. "Reserve Course? How disappointing. You're nothing but an ordinary person. And here I thought that you just might be a shining beacon of hope."

Hajime's eyebrows furrowed. "Didn't you...refer yourself as average and talentless?" he pointed out haltingly. He couldn't decide whether to settle for bewildered or insulted. "It's weird how you're looking down on me for being the same way."

Komaeda sighed in such a condescending way that Hajime promptly decided that he was insulted. "Of course a simple Reserve Course student like yourself wouldn't understand." He shook his head. "The difference between you and me is that I know my place. As I said before, my refusal was refused, so I was admitted as an Ultimate despite knowing how painfully untalented I am. You, on the other hand, arrogantly believe that you have a shot among the elites when it's an exercise in futility. It's no different than an ant wanting to be a bird!" With that said, he released a nasally, grating laughter.

Hajime felt anger sear through him, his hands clenching tightly at his sides. He couldn't believe that just a minute ago he had found comfort in Komaeda's smile. In that moment, all he could find was detestation. "How can you say that when you don't even know me?" he demanded.

"Believe me, I know enough after learning how you're a mere Reserve," Komaeda sniffed. "You're a leech to Hope's Peak Academy—trash who has to pay his way to gain entry. How disgusting." 

"You're just making an assumption about me," he remarked flatly, but Komaeda went on as though he didn't say anything.

"This must be the result of my bad luck. Ah, to think that I'd be stuck here with someone like you, but no matter." He put on a grin that looked as fake as the sweet tone in his voice. "You just have to play your part as a stepping stone for the real Ultimates just like me!"

Where Komaeda found him disgusting for buying his enrollment, Hajime found him equally disgusting for debasing him as though he wasn't worth anything. And for what? For not having a talent? For not being an Ultimate?

Hajime himself had always admired the skilled and the accomplished, and he had always aspired to be apart of their league, hence why he decided to become a Hope's Peak student even as a Reserve. However, he wasn't so much of an Ultimate fanatic to start lambasting those who weren't an Ultimate themselves. He had decency, damn it. 

And, as far as he was concerned, Komaeda had none of that. Judging by his introduction and what he had referred himself—a stepping stone? really?—it seemed that Komaeda didn't have that high of an opinion himself for the same reason—him not having a talent. Despite of that, there was an underlying note of superiority in his tone, especially with the way he had talked down to Hajime.

Seriously? A leech? Trash? What the hell? Did Komaeda believe that he was better than him just because he won the lottery?

At this point, Hajime didn't want anything to do with the other boy. Impatience was compelling him to make his leave. He cast a glare and declared, "You know what? I don't need this. I'm gonna go—and make _friends_ with those Ultimates."

Komaeda's expression morphed into that of nonchalance. "As expected of a Reserve Course student. So arrogant, so ignorant. You think that you're worthy to breathe the same air as them. How pathetic."

Hajime's eye twitched in tandem when he felt a spike of irritation. "Yeah, yeah, I have the audacity," he huffed. He turned on his heel and marched off, kicking up sand in the process. A fire burned within him, fueling him with his new sense of purpose of acting according to the contrary. Because? "Screw you, Komaeda. I'll show you."

And Hajime did just that. Or, at least, he had tried to. Most of them had been friendly and hadn't appeared to mind his status as a Reserve Course student. One of them, Koizumi Mahiru, had mentioned that her best friend was going to attend as a Reserve. Sonia Nevermind, in particular, had expressed her intrigue when he had described himself to be an average Japanese boy; she had vocalized a desire to know what an everyday Japanese kid's life was like and had hoped to learn from him. Overall, it had been a relief knowing that he would be treated with humane respect by the majority. As for the minority? Well...

There had been a few who had proven to be either confusing or unpleasant. Tanaka Gundham and Togami Byakuya had acted like they were inherently superior because they were the "Overlord of Ice" and the "heir of the Togami Corporation" respectively. It seemed like they would have thought themselves as his better regardless of whether he was an Ultimate or not. Togami specifically hadn't had much patience dealing with "plebeians" like Hajime. Perhaps with time, Hajime could establish amiable terms with those two. 

Saionji Hiyoko had called him a loser and Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko had been an asshole. Yeah, not bothering with those two. 

And then there was Hanamura Teruteru, the one person who had reacted positively to him being a Reserve. Technically, this should have been nice if not strange, but Hanamura had proceeded to whisper about giving Hajime "special lessons" to compensate for his lack of talent, which had been tragically gross. Sonia had been politely interested in his averageness, but Hanamura had somehow managed to make a fetish out of it. Hajime had firmly declined the invitation.

That aside, Hajime had felt good—proud, even—after getting to meet everyone. Many of them had been accepting, and he could see prospect friends in some of them. And not once did he run into that prick Komaeda. So far so good. Although, throughout his encounters, many of the Ultimates did raise a good question that stuck with him: Why was a Reserve Course student their classmate? 

That was a question that Hajime himself wanted to know the answer to. He had attempted asking Usami about it, and she had assured him that he was indeed everyone's classmate, but he hadn't been appeased by that response.

Surely there must have had been a mistake. Or was it really intentional? What was the administration of Hope's Peak thinking? In the beginning, Hajime had his suspicions. After all, it didn't make sense for the school to group him with the Ultimates when he had been enrolled as a Reserve. For that matter, this whole situation didn't make sense. They were stuck on an island with a magical toy bunny as their teacher, for goodness's sake. What was the meaning behind this? Why were they here?

Hajime shook his head as he trailed after Togami to the beach. Shortly after speaking with the heir, Usami had made an announcement for everyone to return to the beach. For all his swelling optimism, admittedly propagated by the thought of proving Komaeda wrong, Hajime couldn't remain buoyed by the possibility of friendship. Everything was still too suspicious, and the undercurrent of anxiety persisted. No matter how ostensibly peaceful things were, he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was festering below the surface.

"Well, if it isn't Hinata-kun. Were you successful in your pitiful attempt to mingle with the Ultimates?"

Hajime swiftly snaked his way through the crowd, placing them between him and Komaeda.

"Hey, Hinata," Nidai greeted when Hajime stood next to him. The tall boy welcomed him with a grin. "Looks like you finally made it."

"Hmph. He would have made it sooner if he didn't dilly-dally his way here," Togami huffed. Hajime was about to counter that he hadn't been far from following him when Togami moved onto the next topic. "Anyway, it appears that we have time to converse among ourselves before the rabbit returns."

"Kyahaha! Let's talk!" Saionji agreed.

The group discussed attributes regarding their location: There were numerous blocked bridges that extended from the central island, and they were well-supplied ranging from food to living amenities. In addition to the picturesque terrain, there was an airport, a ranch, a supermarket, and a hotel to take note of. It was as Souda had said—they were more or less on a resort. 

They had been sent to a nice vacation spot, but...why?

"All of you are fools," Togami scoffed. "I can't believe nobody has mentioned the most serious truth."

"The most serious truth?" Nanami echoed.

"If no one here realized it, you're all bigger fools than I thought."

"What did you say, you fat bastard? Don't be talkin' all big and shit!" Kuzuryuu growled. Hajime was inclined to agree. If Togami had realized something of significance, then he should just disclose it rather than disparage their intelligence. He was also inclined to think that Kuzuryuu was a bit hypocritical in chest puffing department, but that was probably an element distinctive to the Ultimate Yakuza. 

"Small dogs shouldn't bark so loud," Togami replied coolly.

Hajime's gaze drifted off to the sea as he considered what the Ultimate Affluent Progeny had said. The most serious truth? What could that be?

"I know!" Komaeda's voice rang out cheerfully. "Could it be why a Reserve Course student is here with the Main Course students?"

Hajime cringed. 

"While that is something to talk about, that's not what I was referring to." Togami shook his head. "Have you all gone to the park that's across the bridge?"

"Ya mean the one with the bronze statue with the creepy animals?" Souda said.

"Indeed. When I saw it, I remembered a story that I heard before. There's an island in the Pacific Ocean that is known for its beauty and endless summers, and surrounding that island are five more." Hajime perked up at that. A central island connected to five more islands? It was apparent as to where Togami was going with this. "It is also said that five holy animals symbolize those five islands."

"Which are the animals that you recognized on the statue," Hajime said. "Then that means that we're on that island that you mentioned."

"Jabberwock Island, to be precise," Togami confirmed. "Still, there is something that lingers on my mind. According to what I've heard, Jabberwock Island is already..." Togami's words tapered off, and the large boy fell silent. Curious, Hajime stared at him, waiting to hear what the heir had to say, but Togami folded his arms across his chest and brushed it off with, "Never mind."

Hajime wasn't the only one dissatisfied by that answer. "Hold on!" Nidai called out. "Whaddya mean by that? What do you know that we don't?"

"No need to shout. Once I obtain enough information, I'll tell you." It would have been preferable if Togami just outright told them, but it didn't seem like he wasn't going to divulge no matter how much they would try to pry. Nevertheless, what they had learned was crucial. They now knew that they were on Jabberwock Island, which answered the question of their location.

Hajime frowned. If they were somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, then they were well over ten thousand kilometers away from Japan. If they were in a hostage predicament, then it would be unlikely that they could swim to escape.

While some of them appeared puzzled and uneasy, there were others who took the news with indifference. "Meh, I don't care what this island is called," Owari said. "Nikoniko Island or Papua Island or whatever. Doesn't change the fact that we gotta live here, right?"

Hajime started at that. Live here? Who the hell said anything about that?

"Living together on a tropical island sure sounds exciting!" Mioda enthused, tilting her body to the side. "Ibuki looks forward to it!"

Souda released a low whistle of appreciation. "I can get behind that!"

"Hmm, I like this island too," Saionji chimed in. "Can't say for the rest of you cretins."

Hajime's bafflement amplified as everyone voiced their positive reception to residing here. He just couldn't believe it. Wasn't it glaringly obvious that there was something amiss about this whole situation? How could everyone be so calm about this? "We don't even know how or why we are here," Hajime interjected. "Just think about it. We're supposed to be attending Hope's Peak Academy, and yet we somehow woke up on an island with no proper explanation. Don't you think that it's weird?"

"Cease your prattling, Pointed One. Your concerns are for naught," Tanaka scorned. "Perhaps you should go cool your head with a walk."

"That's right, Hinata-kun." Hajime jumped in alarm when someone rasped into his ear. He spun around, finding Komaeda leaning into his space. Holy freaking—when did he get here? And how on earth did he get so close without him noticing? Hajime, unnerved, shuffled backwards as the Ultimate Lucky Student plastered on a smile. "Why don't you go somewhere far and away from the rest of us?"

As Hajime stifled the urge to lunge at Komaeda and strangle him, Usami conveniently popped out of nowhere with a hearty decree. "Hey, hey! No fighting! We're supposed to be getting along!"

"That's right, Hinata-kun!" Komaeda trilled, holding his arms up. "There's no need to get so worked up! In fact, work that energy by going elsewhere—"

"Shut up, Komaeda," Hajime snapped. He knew that the other boy disliked him on the basis that he was an ass, but did he have to keep antagonizing him like this? Talk about annoying! Hajime faced Usami and pointed at her accusingly, eliciting a squeak out of the rabbit. "Usami, why are we here? What reason do you have in keeping us?"

"H-hold on! No need to get angry!" Usami insisted, waving her paws in front of her frantically. "You're in no trouble whatsoever! It's completely safe, I swear on my word as your teacher!"

"Y-yeah. And it's not as though we have means of leaving either even if we wanted to," Hanamura added nervously. 

Hajime blinked. No means? But that couldn't be possible. They had utilities at their disposal; there was no way that there wasn't anything that could aide their departure. "Wait, what about the planes? You were checking to see if those worked, right, Souda?"

Souda rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, but, as it turns out, those were for show. And it's not like we got ships either."

What, the Ultimate Mechanic couldn't construct himself a viable mode of transportation? 

"From what I've discovered, there's no way to contact the outside world either," Pekoyama said. "In conclusion, we're unable to call for help."

Okay, so no communication. _But_ if they could get the Ultimate _Mechanic_ to make something...

"Which you won't need to!" Usami cried out. "Like I said, you're safe!"

"How can we take your word for it?" Hajime muttered. 

"If we really are in danger, why not swim back home?" Owari asked.

"Th-there's no w-way we can swim that far...!" Tsumiki sputtered out incredulously.

" _Show some spirit_!" Nidai yelled, which was wholly unpleasant since Hajime was standing right next to him. 

As Hajime nursed his throbbing eardrums, Usami went back to reassuring everyone that there was nothing to fear. "Besides, if there was any danger, then I will protect everyone! That's my job as your teacher. All you have to do is peacefully and happily coexist here on this beautiful tropical island."

"It would seem that the rabbit will uphold to what she says," Togami noted.

That didn't guarantee _anything_. Hajime, however, was too exasperated by how accommodating everyone was of the circumstances that he discarded rationality and went with the flow. That and he had a feeling that if he protested anymore, Komaeda would latch onto that and make a bigger nuisance of himself. 

Maybe it was true that he was getting worked up over nothing. As strange as this was, maybe all they needed to do was gather everyone's Hope Fragments and enjoy their time here. Maybe this was some kind of social experiment conducted by Hope's Peak. Maybe there was an explanation as to why a Reserve was here with a bunch of Ultimates, one that made more sense than Usami's magniloquent statement.

Hajime supposed that he could rest easy for now. So, after ducking and rolling out of Komaeda's periphery, he joined the others in building sandcastles, playing in the water, and making conversations. For a lovely sunny day, it was a good time to go and have fun. 

And then Monokuma arrived. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, why are there sixteen of you? If there should be fifteen Hope's Peak Academy students arranged to come to this island..." Monokuma trailed off, casting an air of suspense before gleefully bursting out, "That must mean that there is a traitor hiding among you!"

The hairs on the back of Hajime's neck rose. A traitor? Among them?

"Wh-what are you saying?" Kuzuryuu sputtered. "Don't talk shit about traitors!"

"It's nonsense," Pekoyama asserted, albeit uncertainly. "He's trying to confuse us."

"For real, you guys," Monokuma chuckled. "How can you be so sure? After all, you don't know anything about each other; you don't know everyone's true nature. That's why if someone's plotting a murder, it's impossible for you to know!"

With that said, everyone fell silent. 

It had already been an emotionally draining day: Waking up to find that them being whisked away to a magical island adventure hadn't been one convoluted dream, realizing that said magical island adventure really had been turned into a killing game, and that said killing game still hadn't been a dream. Additionally, having to evade Komaeda had proved to be a more taxing endeavor than he had originally believed it to be.

Komaeda had an uncanny ability to pop up at every corner, and having to run away from a guy like that under the hot sun had Hajime smelling worse than the Usami Corral. Even Tanaka had turned his nose at him. In any other circumstance, Hajime liked to think that he was someone who would confront his problems rather flee from them. But the situation had been distressing enough and he hadn't wanted Komaeda to exacerbate it with his prattling.

And now...they had to deal with this.

Not only did they learn that their memories had been stolen from them, but they also had a traitor in their midst. 

"Isn't that so gosh darn awful?" Monokuma remarked cheerfully. "To think that there's someone who's pretending to be your friend only to go behind your backs...! Talk about a des _bear_ ing situation!" He clutched his rotund stomach and cackled. "Wouldn't it make sense for you to make a preemptive strike and kill the bastard? If you don't want to be killed, then you gotta kill!"

Even after Monokuma had left, the echoes of his taunting laughter rang inside Hajime's head. As it would seem, it was the same for everyone else as they collectively remained standing in place, wrapping their minds over the terrible news that they had received. What did this mean for them? Was this traitor going to kill them? Help Monokuma get the killing game moving? Was the traitor the reason why Monokuma here? Was the traitor the mastermind?

Before Hajime could sink further into the dark recess of his mind, before his fear could consume him, Komaeda's voice broke through the heavy silence. 

"A traitor huh? Then...wouldn't the traitor be someone who's different from the rest of us?" 

On cue, everyone looked at Hajime. Hajime flinched.

Damn it, Komaeda.

"Hey, that's right." Kuzuryuu marched through the crowd and towards him. The shorter boy seized Hajime by the collar and yanked him down, forcing him to meet a pair of furious eyes. "Well, bastard? You the traitor who got us into this mess?"

"W-wait! Hold on a minute!" Hajime sputtered, grappling Kuzuryuu's hold and trying to pry his fingers. "I'm not the traitor!"

"B-but how would we know that?" Souda's nervous words filtered through. "It's not like we got proof that you aren't."

"You don't have proof that I am either!" When Hajime finally freed himself, he stumbled backwards, accidentally bumping into Tsumiki who squeaked in alarm. Hajime was about to apologize when Nidai's large hand wrapped itself around his upper arm, pulling him away. The manager didn't release him, and Hajime quickly realized that he was being held captive like how an officer would do when making an arrest. 

Hajime was appalled. 

His eyes glided from face to face, taking in varying expressions of fright, suspicion, anger, and stoicism. There was one face that stood out from the rest, and that was Komaeda's; the boy observed from afar with a contemplative look, his hand cupping his chin and a ghost of a smile lingering on his lips. He made himself appear as though he hadn't been the one responsible for enabling everyone into this state of panic.

Hajime grounded his teeth. The asshole!

"I don't want to doubt you just because you're not an Ultimate, but...you got to admit that it's kind of fishy," Koizumi said reluctantly. 

"Fess up!" Owari demanded, cracking her knuckles. "Are you the traitor or not?"

"I already said that I'm not," he snapped, growing agitated by how things were heading south. To think that he had been blessed being grouped with these people; they had initially been nonjudgmental of his status as a Reserve, and yet, just by a flip of the switch, everyone was turning against him for that reason. It stung. His heart wrenched at the easy betrayal. Even though there were some of them who appeared unsure about the assumption, they did nothing to intervene.

Everyone was only reacting this way because they were scared. They didn't hate him because he was inferior; they just needed a logical explanation as to why he couldn't be the traitor, the cogent part of his brain counseled. And it didn't seem like they were all definite on the idea that he was truly working against them, so he had to come up with something to sway them. And he better do it before Owari decided to introduce her fist to his face.

His mind raced as he tried to come up with something.

"Just—just think about it. What are the implications of there being a traitor?"

"What do mean?" Peko asked, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses.

Hajime took a breath. "We know that Monokuma wants a killing game to happen. That means that he would do anything to stir up distrust among us so that we'd be more inclined to kill. Who's to say that Monokuma's been telling the truth about there being a traitor?"

"But who's to say that Monokuma's been lying?" Komaeda countered.

 _Damn it_ , Komaeda. Hajime shot a glare at the boy, who placidly smiled back. "I'm just saying, Hinata-kun," Komaeda continued. "Your argument is rather weak if that's what you're banking on."

"No, Hinata has a point," Togami interceded. Hajime pulled his gaze away from Komaeda to look at the heir. Alleviated from this weight of desperation with someone agreeing with him, Hajime smiled gratefully. Togami didn't return his look, though; instead, he peered at everyone disdainfully. "Look at you lot. You're already falling for Monokuma's ploy. I would have expected better even from a class of commoners."

"Th-that's right...! There's n-no way that it's possible," Hanamura said through his trembling and stammering. "There's no way that I can believe it...! There's no reason to believe it...!"

"But can we be sure that there isn't a traitor?" Komaeda said.

"If we aren't certain, then may we ask Monomi?" Sonia put forward.

At the mention of her name, Monomi jolted. "Hwahaw!"

"Oh, yeah!" As though invigorated by Sonia's suggestion, Souda put on a show of bravado and demanded, "Monomi! Is it true? About our stolen memories? The traitor?"

Monomi shook like a leaf in the wind. Just like Monokuma, Monomi was very expressive despite being an animatronic plushie; and right now, she was obviously expressing nervousness. "Um... I mean... Everyone needs to look forward to the future," she waffled. "So there's no need to look back to the past." As though making a last-ditch attempt to divert their attention, Monomi exclaimed wildly, "Keep your eyes fixed on the future! L-let's do our very best!"

Suddenly, Monomi vanished.

"She ran off!" Owari gasped.

"Argh!" Souda grasped at his beanie. "That was sketchy as hell! Then it must all be true!"

"Calm yourself—" Togami was about to say when he was cut off by Monokuma's nighttime announcement, signalling that it was 10 PM. When that was over, Togami spoke up again. "We don't know whether we can trust Monokuma _or_ Monomi. However, distrusting others like this will only breed unnecessary paranoia. Hinata is correct in saying that this will make us more inclined to kill."

"Hmph. You speak as though we would be vulnerable to such banal trickery," Tanaka sniffed, crossing his arms. "Do not think that I, Tanaka Gundham, will fall prey to that loathsome creature's designs!"

"Perhaps not," Togami conceded, "but not many of us have strong wills. Therefore, I, your leader, hereby command everyone to abandon any thoughts of murder. If you do find yourself falling for such ideation, then come talk to me."

Hajime doubted that anyone would do that if anyone wanted to get off the island, but at least Togami had offered.

"Yeah, yeah. That's all nice and shit, but what about the Reserve being the traitor?" Kuzuryuu grunted.

Oh no. Not this again, and Komaeda hadn't even prompted it. 

"U-um, c-could Hinata-san really be the t-traitor?" Tsumiki asked, wringing her hands. "It—it's just that he's s-so nice that it's hard to believe..."

"Nice or not, it could just be an act," Saionji sneered. "Hinata could be faking it just to get our guard down!"

"Enough!" Togami bellowed. "We've already established—"

"I bet that he's been lying to us about being a Reserve to make him look harmless!" Saionji propounded.

"Impossible!" Komaeda refuted instantly. "There's no way an Ultimate would lie about his or her talent!"

"Unless he's the Ultimate Liar?" Mioda mused aloud.

Komaeda reeled back at that. 

"A liar, eh?" Hanamura hummed in consideration. "You know, they say that you can tell a person is lying by tasting their sweat. If you want, I can volunteer to ascertain Hinata-kun's honesty," he purred.

"Kyahaha! Yeah, let the pervert lick the loser," Saionji snickered.

Hajime shuddered in revulsion. No way he was going to let that happen! He frantically raked through his brain to see what else he could say to convince them; otherwise, Hanamura just might go through with his sexual harassment with no one stopping him! For a brief second, Hajime glanced at Togami, only to see the boy trying to quell the masses. Unfortunately, his efforts weren't making much of an impact as it had before. 

It was as though everyone had been zapped with energy. The class became lively in their absurd debate about the possible existence of there being a traitor, about Hajime being said traitor, and about...whether or not they should let Hanamura lick Hajime. 

Oh gosh. They were seriously considering it?

"I don't think that there is scientific evidence that supports that notion," Sonia commented dubiously.

"Doesn't hurt to try!" Hanamura replied gleefully.

"Mikan-chan, is there any basis in what Hanamura's saying?" Koizumi inquired.

"Uhh..." Tsumiki floundered.

Coming up with absolutely nothing, Hajime resorted to pleading to his detainer. "Nidai, you're not going to let this happen, are you? You know that this is wrong!"

Nidai looked conflicted. "Uhh..."

From the corner of his eye, Hajime noticed Hanamura creeping his way towards him. Hajime recoiled, not caring how his body was pressed firmly against Nidai's side. Hanamura was a fine guy and all, an astounding cook, and possibly one of the few who didn't believe that Hajime was the traitor, but he was _gross_. And while Hanamura didn't believe in the theory that Hajime was a backstabber, he was obviously taking advantage of it.

Gross, gross, gross. Hajime did _not_ like the way Hanamura was ogling him. He felt so violated.

"Wouldn't it be too obvious if Hinata-kun is the traitor?" came Nanami's calm interjection. As though casting a spell, the clamor quieted and the excitement subsided. "If there really is someone who intended to join us undetected, then they wouldn't have made themselves an obvious target." And just when Hajime could sing Nanami praises for her brilliance, she tacked on, "I think," which did nothing but up his anxiety levels. 

"Nanami is right," Togami said, taking the opportunity to say something now that his voice could be heard. "Let's put all this nonsense behind us. It's already late."

With the final order of meeting at the restaurant in the morning, Togami dismissed everyone. The class yielded to that without a fight as the energy had quickly left their systems. Succumbing to weariness, everyone trudged their way back to their cottages. Meanwhile, Kuzuryuu shot him the stink-eye and Hanamura pouted in disappointment. Hajime, however, didn't care. He was relieved that Hanamura didn't get a chance to go through with his plan. He would have to thank Togami and Nanami tomorrow. 

He then looked up. "Nidai, let go of me."

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Sorry about that!"

Hajime rubbed his arm. He didn't think that he was going to bruise, but, jeez, talk about a grip. 

"So, uh, Hinata." Hajime returned his attention to Nidai. The taller boy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Look, I wanna say...I'm sorry for grabbing you. It shames me as a man, but I jumped on the bandwagon of you being the traitor when I should've had more trust in you! You've been nothing but a good guy, and yet I doubted you."

At his earnest words, Hajime was taken aback. "Nidai?"

"It... It makes me feel like _shit_!" Nidai exploded, causing Hajime to jump. "What kind of manager am I if I don't have faith in my team? A shitty one, that's what!"

"I'm not one of your players," Hajime blandly reminded him. 

"Of course you are! Ever since we came to this island, we had a challenge set for us. With Togami leading us as captain and Monokuma as our opponent, we got no choice but act as a team!" Nidai thumped a fist to his chest. "That's why as team manager, it's my job to see to it that each and every one of us does their best in winning the game, and that means making sure that everyone comes out of this alive."

What a heavy responsibility...

In a softer tone, Nidai continued, "Hinata, I know that I may not be deserving of this, but I wanna redeem myself. Not only as a man, but as your friend." He clasped his hands on Hajime's shoulders and returned to shouting out, "So I ask of you: Hinata, will you trust me to be your team manager?"

Hajime stared back at him with wide eyes. "Um. Sure?"

"What was that? I can't hear you!"

"S-sure!" Hajime stuttered. "I mean, Yeah! Yes!" he cried out.

"Say it louder!"

"Yes! _Yes_!"

" _Yeeaaaah_!" Nidai roared, punching the air. "I, Nidai Nekomaru, swear that I'll be the best team manager you'll ever have! I swear it upon my honor as a man!" 

After a couple rounds of fervent chanting and manly hugging, Nidai finally left. Hajime nearly sagged to the ground, finding respite in the other boy's absence. Nidai was a nice guy, but he was noisy. And exhausting. Effusively exhausting. Hajime didn't think that he was so standoffish and quiet that he would clash with Nidai's exuberant personality, but he was certainly a handful for someone like him. 

And yet...Hajime found himself grateful that Nidai had reached out to him. Sure, he would have preferred it if he had done it in the morning, but he still had gone out of his way to apologize, and that was something Hajime appreciated it. 

Hajime would be lying if he said that he wasn't resentful towards the Ultimates who had crucified him, towards the Ultimates who hadn't stepped in and defended him. To see everyone getting so worked up like that over one speculation, he couldn't help but share Togami's contempt. Had they been in his shoes, they wouldn't appreciate having stones being thrown at them. 

But had he been in their shoes, he wouldn't so readily believe that any of their friends wouldn't deceive them. Hajime sighed. He didn't want to commiserate with the others in their moment of irrationality; he wanted to stay mad. He didn't want to admit that he was just as skeptical and afraid like the rest of them. He especially didn't want to forgive Saionji for being strongly advocating Hanamura's licking session. 

However, Hajime knew that once he got a good night's rest, the resentment would wane to nothingness and he would go back to admiring the Ultimates for being Ultimates. After all, what could a lame Reserve Course student do other than look up to his betters?

Hajime dragged his feet back to his cottage. Ugh. What a day. He probably should forgo showering tonight; he was too tired to bother. 

Maybe he should sleep in until the afternoon. Oh, wait, he couldn't Togami had ordered them to come to the restaurant in the morning—

"Hello there, Hinata-kun."

Leaning on one of the porch columns was Komaeda, who greeted him with a smile. Hajime instinctively prepared himself to make a getaway when he realized that Komaeda was standing in front of his cottage. 

"We have a lot to talk about," Komaeda said genially. 

Hajime groaned. 


	3. Chapter 3

"Komaeda, can't this wait until tomorrow?" Hajime did not whine. He was too manly for that. Damn it, he was sounding like Nidai. 

"Afraid not," Komaeda replied. 

Hajime stared at him with blank intensity. He kickstarted his brain to consider his options: Should he indulge Komaeda's whims and converse with him? Should he ignore him and go to bed? The latter seemed like the obvious choice, but he wasn't sure how Komaeda would respond if he did that. Would the luckster force his way inside his cottage? Would he manhandle Hajime into compliance?

After a quick appraisal of Komaeda's physique, Hajime decided that was ridiculous. There was no way a twig like him could do such a thing. He was more likely to snap a femur from a three-foot drop than overpower Hajime. Ha! Komaeda, overpowering him? Someone like Saionji could probably beat him in an arm wrestling match, Hajime thought meanly. He figured that he was entitled to having mean thoughts; Komaeda had been very mean to him to begin with. 

When Hajime set foot on his porch, Komaeda swiftly moved in front of his door. Hajime huffed and nudged him out of the way—or, at least, he tried to. Komaeda didn't move. Hajime next tried to shove him out of the way by plowing him sideways with his shoulder, but no dice. 

"Oh, that shouldn't have happened," Hajime muttered. 

"What's wrong, Hinata-kun?" Komaeda asked him, voice saccharine. "Couldn't a mere Reserve like yourself be able to move someone as lowly as me?"

Had Hajime not been so freaking tired, he would have socked him. His brain couldn't even properly register the insult. He just couldn't be bothered. 

"Argh," Hajime said.

"What an intelligible response," Komaeda remarked. "Truly, you are a shining example of your fellow Reserves, Hinata-kun!" He then scrunched up his nose. "You also smell terribly. Do you Reserves not know how to bathe?"

"I took a shower before dinner," Hajime grunted. Granted, the meeting that Monokuma had called everyone to and what had happened afterwards had been enough to build up some nervous sweat, and nightfall did nothing to diminish the tropical heat. 

He dropped his head forward, thudding it against the door. If only he could reach for the knob, but Komaeda was blocking the way. Hajime eyed the space where the knob would be, which happened to be occupied by the weird red swirly design of the other boy's shirt. Was weirdly designed shirts Komaeda's preferred style or was he stuck wearing whatever Monokuma had given him like how Hajime was?

"I suppose that it makes sense that trash will always smell like trash no matter how much you mask the scent with air freshener," the other boy hummed. "Then again, I'm trash myself! Human garbage! We fit well, don't you think, Hinata-kun? Speaking of which, this is related to what I wish to discuss with you about."

"Ugh. No," Hajime replied, wondering if Monokuma would allow students to sleep outside of their cottages. That hadn't been one of the rules listed in the handbook, right? 

"Although, I would prefer it if you maintained a distance. I know how a lowly Reserve would desire to be close to an Ultimate, even to a faux one such as myself, but you reek!" When Komaeda lifted his arms to push Hajime away, he lifted his body from the door, revealing an opening.

Hajime's eyes widened at the presented opportunity, and didn't waste a second shooting his arm through the gap made between Komaeda's body and the door. Komaeda, however, took notice of this and slammed himself back, only to crush his weight into Hajime's arm. _That_ hurt, but elation of his fingers brushing against the knob drove him forward

Hajime thrust his arm through, pointedly ignoring how his own body was lined firmly against Komaeda's. He was especially ignoring the gross breathy noises that Komaeda was making in his ear.

When his palm cupped the knob, Hajime grabbed hold and twisted it. The door gave in, but because of how their combined weight had been pressed against the door, the two of them crashed onto the floor with their limbs entangled. Hajime groaned at the dull ache of the impact, and then proceeded to elbow Komaeda off of him. Komaeda thankfully complied.

"If you wanted to go inside, all you needed to do was ask," Komaeda chirped, pulling himself upright.

Hajime's brow twitched. "I think it was fairly plain to see that _I did_."

"Hm? You mean ask?"

"That I wanted to go inside. And why would I need to ask to go inside _my_ cottage?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

As if Hajime was going to bother doing that. "If I told you to get out, would you?"

"Try asking," he said, batting his eyelashes.

"Will you get out of my cottage?"

"What's the magic word?"

"Will you _please_ get the hell out of my cottage?"

"Now, why would I do what a Reserve tells me to do?" Komaeda replied casually, examining his nails. He stretched his legs out and leaned back with his other hand propped behind him, making himself perfectly at home in Hajime's abode when he was really an intruder. 

Hajime felt a burst of indignation, but it burned away fast. He just felt even _more_ exhausted now.

He closed the door, seriously not giving a damn anymore. He kicked off his shoes and floated over to his bed to perform a belly-flop. He sank into the mattress as the cool softness of the covers enveloped him. This was relaxing, the necessary balm for his battered soul. He sighed happily.

"Hinata-kun? What are you doing?" He heard footsteps pad closer. "Did you already forget about your guest? How rude!"

Hajime sighed again, but this time in grief. He rolled over to his back and absentmindedly patted the space next to him. "Take a seat."

"Allowing me to lie down next to you? You're rather forward."

Hajime invited him to _sit down_ , not _lie down_. Sheesh. This wasn't even a matter of selective hearing. Warped interpretive hearing? 

"Of perhaps you're foolish. You do realize that you're easy to kill this way, don't you?" The bed dipped again. Hajime gave him a sideways glance, and he honestly couldn't bring himself to feel baffled at the sight of what Komaeda was doing. Settling down on his side with his head supported by his hand, Komaeda looked like the cover girl of a playboy magazine. 

"You don't look like you're about to kill me," Hajime pointed out.

Komaeda casually whipped out a pocket knife.

Hajime stared.

"How about now?" Komaeda asked cheerfully.

"Killing me would defeat the purpose of talking to me," he tried.

He waved the knife in his face. "I could have lied in order to lower your guard."

Hajime was beginning to feel worried now, but he hastily squashed the feeling because he knew that was what Komaeda would have wanted. Instead of falling for his provocations, Hajime fixed him an unimpressed glare. "Uh huh. Yeah. Sure. You know, for someone who hates me so much, I don't get why you'd bother lying on my bed."

"And you could use a shower." If he smelled so bad, then get out of here! "But don't worry. I have no intentions on sticking around a lowly Reserve for long."

Komaeda was sounding like a broken record. Reserve this, Reserve that. Reserve, Reserve, Reserve. At this point, Hajime didn't think that Komaeda could get a rise out of him with that insult anymore, and he wasn't just saying that because he was sleepy. 

"Say what you wanna say and get out," Hajime grumbled. 

And so Komaeda did. With a monologue.

Admittedly, Hajime didn't quite understand what Komaeda was saying as he bounced back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness. He caught snatches of it—something about a small dog and a big dog? And penguins flying? At this point, Komaeda's obnoxious airy voice became lulling white noise. Hajime was more aware of the softness of his pillow than the words coming out of Komaeda's mouth.

"Hinata-kun, are you listening to me? Are you falling asleep?"

"Just resting my eyes," he mumbled out his denial. 

When he opened his eyes again, he heard the crackling sound of Monokuma's morning announcement. Hajime groaned and rubbed his eyes. He turned his head, finding the spot that Komaeda had occupied empty. 

How long did Komaeda stick around? Hajime distantly wondered about this as he swung his legs over and padded to the bathroom. For that matter, how long did he manage to stay awake to keep the other boy entertained? Probably long enough for Komaeda to not actually stab him and leave him bleeding to death.

Now that he thought about it, it really _was_ stupid to leave himself open like that. Anyone could have easily exploited his moment of weakness and he wouldn't wake up to another tomorrow. Hajime berated himself for this folly. It had been his luck—ugh, he did not want to use that word—that Komaeda had deigned to keep him alive for whatever reason. 

When Hajime looked up and saw his reflection in the mirror, he sighed. 

Yeah, next time, he definitely had to be smarter about his life choices.

Damn it, Komaeda.

* * *

"You're late—what the hell?" Togami sputtered.

"Don't ask."

"You didn't think to wash it off?"

"It's permanent ink," Hajime gritted out.

The other curious occupants of the restaurant took one glance at Hajime's face and reacted accordingly. Some tried to muffle their giggles while others outright laughed at his face. Hajime wasn't too upset about it, though; he had mentally prepared himself for the humiliation. Had pretty much gone through a psychological obstacle course to push himself to at least go get breakfast. Otherwise, he would have holed himself in his cabin for the rest of eternity.

"Maybe you do have an Ultimate talent—Ultimate Loser," Saionji cackled. 

"Wow, today is not your day, man," Souda guffawed. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Hajime grumbled as he moved towards the breakfast bar. "Laugh it up, why don't you."

When he seated himself, he still heard snickering passing around the room. Togami, the ever unflappable conglomerate heir, hardly found this amusing and kept shooting rebuking glares. Well, at least someone was being mature about this. As Hajime took a sip of his orange juice, he sensed someone taking a seat before him.

"Why, Hinata-kun, you're looking particularly charming this morning," Komaeda greeted him, a smile stretching wide across his face.

"Oh, I'm sure," Hajime replied scathingly, setting down his glass with a sharp click. "And I'm sure you're here to admire your lovely artwork, huh?"

"Well, seeing it now, I should have scrapped the eyepatch and gone for the unibrow." As if the curly mustache, goatee, freckles, and the HEDGEHOG on his forehead hadn't been enough? It took every ounce in Hajime's body not to upend his food on Komaeda's head. 

"Komaeda, you put permanent ink _on my eyelids_. Who knows what sort of health-related issues this could mean? What if the ink bleeds into my eyeball? What if I go _blind_?"

"No need to fret! I'm sure that we can ask Tsumiki-san."

Upon the mention of her name, Tsumiki squeaked. "U-um, well, I-I-I," Tsumiki stumbled over her words before explaining, "Hinata-san might ex-experience skin irritation, especially if he's allergic to p-permanent ink... But I don't think that blindness w-would occur unless if it's r-repetitively done."

"See?" Komaeda chirped. "No harm done."

"Aside from a possible rash," Hajime reminded him waspishly. "What if it swells? I'd be walking around with lump on my face!"

"Oh! Hinata-san would look just like Quasimodo from _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_!" Sonia enthused, clapping her hands.

"A lame look for a lame person!" Saionji burst out gleefully.

Hajime noticed Nanami eating with her hood up and instantly felt jealous. He wished he had a hood to cover him. Maybe he should bring a security blanket with him from now on, seeing how he was going to continuously be treated like the resident buttmonkey.

"So it was Komaeda who drew on Hinata's face," Nidai noted. "How'd he manage to do that?"

"Never mind that now," Togami interrupted. "I have important news to share with everyone."

"Yeah? And what's that?" Owari asked around a mouthful of food.

Togami smirked and crossed his arms. "Rejoice... I have decided to throw a party this evening."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, Hajime isn't going to be the buttmonkey forever. I'm just establishing his and Nagito's rocky beginnings.


	4. Chapter 4

Hajime blankly stared at the ceiling of his cottage, unable to sleep. It wasn't as though weariness had eluded him, but the buzzing of his restless mind wouldn't allow him to, well, rest. Granted, what had transpired earlier today was enough to keep a person wide awake throughout the night.

The shock of Komaeda's schemes had left as soon as it had come. True, Hajime hadn't expected this level of underhandedness from Komaeda, especially when the guy had kowtowed the ground that the Ultimates had walked upon; yet, at the same time, it hadn't been that surprising.

A few days of taking the brunt of Komaeda's assholiness, Hajime had basically gotten an idea just how much of an asshole Komaeda truly was.

An asshole enough to manipulate someone into committing murder? No, he hadn't seen that one coming, but while everyone had still been reeling back from the revelation that one of their classmates was a total nutjob, Hajime had shaken off the surprise in record time and had pressed on to continue the trial.

Meanwhile, Komaeda had been trying to pin the blame on Hajime, conveniently painting him as the traitor (because he was an asshole), in which Hajime had retaliated by putting on his metaphorical ballistic shield of Komaeda-bullshittery that he had in the works. The shield hadn't been, like, Ultimate level, but it had been better than nothing.

Better than the intermittent outbursts of "Holy shit, he's insane!" that had done nothing to contribute to the trial. 

It had been thanks to everyone's efforts that they all had survived. All except for Hanamura who had melted—burned—dissolved to death for his execution. 

"For a Reserve, you did a pretty good job," someone—he didn't remember who—had commended when they had retreated to their respective cottages. 

No, it hadn't been because he had done a "pretty good job." He had done a _damn_ good job, but that was beside the point. The point was that no one had bothered to utilize their deductive reasoning skills. People had jumped to conclusions rather than carefully process the details no matter how trifling they had appeared to be. It had been like how everyone had clamored in agreement that Komaeda had been the killer instead of noticing the key factors as to why he couldn't be.

(Well, it had been mainly thanks to Tsumiki that Komaeda's innocence had been acknowledged, but anyways...)

For a class of Ultimates, Hajime had been astounded by how discordant the discussions had become. Accusations had been flung left and right, and debates had been dragged on and on.

Okay, perhaps that was an exaggeration; the trial hadn't been _that_ big of a mess, and it wasn't as though Hajime alone had hard-carried the trial. As mentioned before, because of everyone pitching in, they had managed to discover the true culprit. 

Although, the trial could have gotten by much quicker, and he had expected _most_ of them to make clear-cut deductions, but that hadn't been the case.

Souda was a mechanical genius, which meant that he was a wizard in mathematics and physics.

Sonia was a princess, which meant that, she had received lengthy lesson plans that varied from politics, languages, history, culture, decorum, and so on and so forth.

And Kuzuryuu was the future leader of a yakuza, which meant that he had been taught how to conduct shady business deals during his upbringing. Not that knowing shady business deals would be of any use in trials, but being able to detect a scammer surely would.

With intelligence like that, surely the trial would have run smoothly.

And yet none of those talents had been displayed. There had been no logical arguments. No one had maturely taken the reins when the discourse had gone off the rails. And Kuzuryuu, of course, had to make threats when he had been made a suspect. 

Hajime supposed that he shouldn't be too hard on them. Ultimates or not, they were all high school students who were forced to play a psycho bear's game of murder and despair. Each day, their lives hung on a thin thread, not knowing whose would be cut and who would do the cutting. Maybe the Ultimates hadn't done such a good job because they had been cracking under pressure. Maybe the situation had made them inch a little closer to insanity, unlike Komaeda who had been thrust forward to the finish line.

Now that Hajime thought about it, for all his craziness, Komaeda had been clever in setting up his trap. There would have been the complication of avoiding blood getting splattered on him had Komaeda successfully committed the murder, but that probably had been a non-issue for him if he had been willing to become the obvious blackened.

Hajime grimaced at that. Komaeda was dangerous in both his craziness and perspicacity. 

If Komaeda were to plan another murder, then Hajime could only anticipate that he just might be involved somehow. As Komaeda had fondly called him, he was a fellow "stepping stone" to help the Ultimates flourish. 

The last thing that Hajime wanted was to become an instrument for another trial, whether as the blackened or the victim. Not like how Togami and Hanamura had been.

The thought of the deceased filled Hajime with renewed distraught. Togami, their self-proclaimed leader, and Hanamura, the perverted cook, were really dead. And as much as he would like to think that their deaths would be compelling enough to put a permanent end to these killings, he wasn't optimistic enough to really believe it. It wasn't just because of Komaeda who could orchestrate another trap, but because anyone could do it with just the right motive. 

And if it wasn't Komaeda gunning for his head, then anyone else could. After all, who could be a better target than the untalented Reserve Course student? 

Hajime figured that he should stop thinking about his potential demise and start making an attempt at sleeping. It was already past midnight, probably by two or three hours. Thus, he put aside his perturbation and let his eyelids drop, hoping that the following day wouldn't be so bad. 

* * *

Okay, it was going to be bad, but Hajime could delude himself into thinking otherwise. 

* * *

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Hajime took immediate notice of Komaeda's absence. 

First, he registered relief. Next, he registered dread.

"Oh no," he said aloud. "Where is Komaeda?"

Almost everyone was present, yet, despite the willingness to come out of their cottages, there was a heavy somberness in the atmosphere. Some of them had already piled food on their plates, but left it untouched, too busy staring sadly into the distance. Hajime himself had lethargically dragged his feet to get here; however, the second that he had noticed something was amiss, it was as though he had been zapped with energy.

Everyone perked up at the urgency in his voice, only to deflate later when they processed his words.

"Who the hell cares?" Owari grumbled. "As far as I'm concerned, he's out of sight, out of mind."

Hajime frowned. "Well, I care, and I care whether or not he's plotting another murder."

That caused everyone to look up again.

"That would be bad," Koizumi murmured. "Where _is_ he?"

"J-just so we're clear, I know nothing!" Nidai blurted out, sweating. "I don't know where Komaeda is!"

Hajime stared at him blankly. What the hell?

"Yeah, let's forget about that guy," Souda joined in hastily. "He's just some weirdo!"

"A weirdo who tried to cause a murder," Hajime reminded him.

"Just drop it, will you?" Souda shouted. 

As nice as it was to finally get some verve to break the oppressive melancholy, this wasn't what Hajime wanted. 

At some point, Owari sniffed the air and declared that something smelled like trash, which she then traced it back to Saionji. As it turned out, Saionji wasn't able to fasten her own obi; therefore, she...hadn't bathed for days. She hadn't bathed for days and she hadn't changed out of her clothes for days.

Hajime couldn't imagine being so adamant on wearing a particular outfit that he would forgo fulfilling his basic hygiene, but, well, Saionji was Saionji. 

Later, Koizumi volunteered to help Saionji with her obi, which the small girl then turned it into a shower party...or something. A weird transition, but it was the right kind of weird that got everyone smiling and chuckling. And just when the mood became jovial, Monokuma emerged out of the woodwork to sour it. 

"Oh nooo!" Mioda wailed. "Now what?"

"Keep your panties on, alright?" Monokuma snapped. "I'm just looking for one of my servants!"

"Your servants?" Sonia parroted curiously.

"You know, my Monobeasts." Monokuma's earlier display of anger simmered to a glum sigh. "One of them just disappeared..."

Hajime's eyes widened. One of them really did? Then that would mean...

"Maybe I cut back on the food costs too much? Are they boycotting me?" the bear mused. 

"'He was the weakest among the Four Great Demons… Losing to a mere human is a disgrace to the Monobeasts…' Is that what you are trying to say?" Tanaka said with a smirk.

"What?" Monokuma growled. 

"Though this is merely the prelude, the climax will occur soon after." Tanaka's voice then escalated to a loud proclamation, bursting out, "Now, then, let me hear you scream! I shall make such sweet music for you!"

"What? What?" Monokuma growled again. Hajime hated aligning himself with the bear over anything, but he couldn't help but share his sentiments. Ugh, it was too early to decipher what the breeder was saying. 

"Stop playing with the teddy bear, Tanaka," Koizumi chided. 

"So, you're still calling me a teddy bear," Monokuma said darkly, turning his back towards them. Everyone exchanged wary glances. Was the bear pushed too far? "Oh, well... It looks like you guys don't know anything about my Monobeasts. Then there's no point in worrying about it. I don't wanna go bald from worrying too much." He spun on his heel, facing them again, and exclaimed in a more chipper tone, "A wise catbot once said, 'Our eyes are on the front so we can keep moving forward!'"

With that, Monokuma then disappeared.

Hajime frowned in bewilderment. What was that all about?

"What he just said," Pekoyama began haltingly. "Is it true? Did a Monobeast really disappear?"

"Hmm... It might be possible," Nanami drawled. 

Just then, Monomi appeared where Monokuma had last stood. The rabbit was better than the bear, but the comparison didn't do much to alleviate the strange tension. Monomi seemed to have noticed as she awkwardly said, "Oh, um, were you in the middle of something? If so, I can just come back later."

"Then leave," Owari replied curtly. 

"Uwaaah!" Monomi cried. "At least ask me to leave kindly!"

"Ah, wait. Before you go, I want to ask you something. Did you have anything to do with the disappearing Monobeast?" Nanami inquired. 

Hajime nearly got a whiplash by how quickly Monomi had recovered. "Ah, yes! That's right!" she burst out merrily. She proudly propped her nubby arms on her waist. "Tadaaa! I'm the one who defeated that Monobeast!"

In disbelief, Hajime asked, "Really?"

Monomi wouldn't explain how she had accomplished such a feat, but she did inform them about how a gate to another island was open. Although, where Monomi had hoped that this could be an opportunity to flourish their bonds, everyone else saw it as a possibility of an escape.

In response to the rabbit's dismay, Hajime's disbelief compounded. Honestly, after the death of two people, did she really think that they would stick around to make flower crowns and friendship bracelets? Of course everyone wanted to get out of here!

Before Monomi left, she had imparted a few ominous words: "Leaving...is not possible..."

* * *

The second island had two buildings that Hajime didn't think that he would have missed before coming to Jabberwock Island—a library and a pharmacy.

Hajime had never been much of a reader; although, to retreat to a place meant for peace and quiet would be a much-welcomed reprieve from the craziness that the Ultimates tended to accrue. And if someone got injured from an attempted murder, then they not only had the Ultimate Nurse but also a building full of medicine and drugs to save the day.

(Unless Tsumiki ended up dying... No, never mind.)

There was also a diner and a beach house. Hajime hadn't had the opportunity to explore the diner any further because Kuzuryuu had been inside, and he had preferred not to stick around to piss off the little yakuza any more than necessary.

As for the beach house... Hajime hadn't explored that much either because Nidai had dragged him for an impromptu workout. Apparently, the burly boy had intended on keeping his promise on becoming his team manager, hence why Hajime had ended up doing push-ups on the hot sand.

Thankfully, the training had been cut short when Nanami had come by to round everyone up. 

So, here they were, all gathered before the ruins.

Everyone began to talk about what the ruins were and what could be inside. To the side, Koizumi and Pekoyama discussed Komaeda's whereabouts. Pekoyama had asked around to see if anyone had seen the luckster; while the answers had all been negative, she had noticed that Souda and Nidai knew something that everyone else didn't. If their strange behavior during breakfast had been indicative of anything, then it was obvious that they were responsible for Komaeda's disappearance.

Deciding to worry about that for later, Hajime approached Nanami. "Did you discover anything important? Like a secret in helping us get off this island?" he inquired.

Nanami's cast her gaze to the ground as she fiddled with the hood of her jacket. She took a moment before answering uncertainly. "I'm not sure about that..."

"What do you mean?" Pekoyama pitched in.

"There's just...something off about this place. Something unnatural," Nanami stated. "Like...taking a manga about baseball and making a side-scrolling action game based on it. That level of unnaturalness."

"Come again?" Hajime said.

The gamer then redirected everyone's attention to the ruins' entrance. The door was circular with a metallic hinge protruding from the side. There was a thick layer of dust clinging onto the surface, yet Hajime could make out angular grooves. Next to the door was a cylindrical object hanging on the wall. 

"This should be the door to the ruins," Nanami speculated.

"Then should we enter through it?" Koizumi said.

"Let's clean up before we try doing so."

For a girl who could barely keep awake during the day, Nanami was doing fine taking charge. Souda ambled past Hajime with a shrug, saying how there was no harm in doing so. After half of the group swept away the dust, dirt, and vines on the door, they stepped back and to see what it really was.

Yes, it indeed was a door, but the door itself was what caught everyone's eye. 

"This looks like something straight out of a science-fiction movie," Koizumi noted uneasily. "Chiaki-chan was right about the unnatural part."

"There's something written on it," Nidai pointed out.

"Ah, there is!" Mioda said.

Future Foundation. Huh, what could that mean?

"Who the hell cares about that?" Kuzuryuu snapped impatiently. "Hurry up and open it! We have to check out what's inside, don't we?"

"But there's an LCD panel," Koizumi said. "Maybe we need to input the password to do that." Which was a problem since no one knew what the password was. 

"You didn't think that far, did you?" Saionji sneered.

"Well, maybe we can keep trying to put in random numbers once we get it right or something," Kuzuryuu said awkwardly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Maybe we should get Komaeda on board. He can use his luck to guess," Hajime proposed. At least, once they find him. And while Hajime was a little skeptical that the power of luck could be innately harnessed, he couldn't deny that Komaeda had astonishingly good odds after revealing his plan to everyone.

Did his plan fail in the end? For all intents and purposes, no. Someone had died, a trial had occurred, and another someone had died—and all of that had been done without Komaeda being neither of those someones. Perhaps his luck really was what he had claimed it to be. 

"Seriously, what's with you and Komaeda?" Souda cried out.

Hajime flinched. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't think anyone should try guessing," Nanami cut in before Souda could say anything else. "Do you notice the gun by the panel?"

A gun? Hajime glanced at the object, taking note of the metallic tubes clustered into a ring. That was when he realized that those were where bullets would be shot out of. He blanched, nearly stumbling backwards. "I-is that really a gun?"

"If so, then this could be dangerous," Nanami said, her tone grave. "If we were to guess the wrong password..."

"Then we get shot," Kuzuryuu gritted out. "Damn."

"Hey, maybe we _should_ get Komaeda to guess the password!" Saionji piped up. "That way, if he gets it wrong, then we're one less of a psychopath!"

That suggestion alone was quite psychopathic. 

Speaking of psychos, Monokuma popped in, bringing along Monomi with him. 

Everyone proceeded to demand Monokuma to open the door or tell them what was behind it. But, alas, Monokuma wouldn't give them what they wanted, instead opting to be a cryptic piece of shit. And what about Monomi? Was she of any help? Haha, no.

What Monokuma did say—or, at least, allude to—was that the traitor among them knew the password to the door.

Promptly, everyone turned to look at Hajime. 

"Seriously?" he groused. 

"And that's not all!" Monokuma trilled. "Have you guys heard of an organization called the World Destroyers?" After the bear finished prattling on about how evil the organization was and how the traitor was involved, everyone's stares became more piercing. 

Hajime had to repeat himself: " _Seriously_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ლ(ٱ٥ٱლ)
> 
> I'm sorry if you were expecting a new murder mystery story. I'm only good at writing introspection and interaction. I did try my hand at writing a murder, but I came up with something super obvious and bland. So, yeah, you get a rehash of DR2, but with a flavor of Hajime's suffering.


	5. Chapter 5

Just when Hajime had thought that this hellscape could have been somewhat tolerable, Monokuma had to ruin it. The bear had not only reminded everyone of the traitor's existence but had elucidated the traitor's allegiance. 

It had already been a given that this traitor was no friend of theirs; however, knowing that the traitor worked for the World Destroyers had sent a wave of panic and fright that had jarred them out of their growing complacency.

It had been as if a black shroud of terror had enveloped them, and the only source of light that they could see past this darkness—the only person who they could point their fingers at—had been Hajime. 

If Byakuya was still here, Hajime thought glumly, then the Ultimate would have dispelled these notions rooted from irrational fear. But, as it was, their leader was no longer here—no longer here to deliver his commands, to capture everyone's attention with his clear-cut, no-nonsense reasoning, to make this motley group of theirs see sense. And because Byakuya wasn't here, everyone had been quick to doubt Hajime once again.

(Aside from Nidai, who had staunchly proclaimed his belief in Hajime. And Nanami, who had seemed too sleepy to care.)

People were so quick to turn their backs at the slightest indication of betrayal that they had conveniently forgotten Hajime's active participation in the trial. Or if they hadn't forgotten, then they would make the excuse that Hajime had been attempting to subvert their expectations of him being a traitor just to lower their guards.

Hajime, like before, had tried to be understanding, but, now... Now, he couldn't help but feel slighted. Very slighted. 

While he hadn't thought of himself as a petty person before... Well, actually, had he been petty when he had wanted to stick it to Komaeda? That a Reserve could stand equally among the Ultimates? Admittedly, he hadn't believed that—still didn't—yet he had voiced this "belief" aloud as though he had.

Just to contradict Komaeda.

Yeah, that sounded petty.

Regardless, if Hajime hadn't been petty _prior to_ Jabberwock Island, then he certainly was _currently_. 

Within good reason. He was done being the buttmonkey.

After that incident, Hajime had kept close to Nidai and Nanami, albeit Nanami more so. Being around Nidai usually meant impromptu training sessions and getting involved in the crossfire between his and Owari's heated fistfights. As for the others, just as they had regarded him with skepticism, he had treated them with the cold shoulder. 

They might be his talented superiors, but that didn't mean he would bow his head and take their crap. He had his dignity. 

Nanami hadn't liked his plan and had suggested that he put extra effort into befriending them again. She wanted them to see that there was no way that he could possibly ever-ever betray them, and the only way to do that, according to her, was by playing nice. 

Hajime had thought that to be stupid. Of course she would say such a thing; it hadn't been as if she was the one who everyone thought to be the traitor.

Hajime had steeled himself, staying decisive regardless of Nanami's gentle placating. He couldn't set himself open for others to take advantage of. He had a target on his back bigger than ever, so he had to be wary. 

Obviously, another murder was going to happen because everyone on this island was bananas. And who was going to get murdered? Not him because he was going to pull a Kuzuryuu and hiss and snarl at everyone like he had a stick up his ass. Trying to kill an edgy bastard would be too much work than, say, trying to kill a crybaby wimp like Tsumiki.

(Wow, he was getting that asshole-thinking down to a pat. Thanks, Komaeda.) 

So, yes, Hajime planned to be an asshole. Not just to be petty, but to survive. 

At least, that had been what he had intended to go for. 

When Hajime had arrived at the restaurant with his chest puffed out and his jaw set, he came upon Koizumi who greeted him with a relieved smile. While strained, the expression that she gave him was bright and happy—enough to startle Hajime to drop his standoffish facade and go, "What?"

"Don't go 'what' on me. Honestly, you boys have no manners."

Hajime stared. 

"Look, I need you to deliver something for me." She turned around to pick up a tray that had been sitting on the table behind her. On the tray were toast, a bottle of milk, and two small packets of butter and jam. Hajime's mind went blank for a second before realization clicked.

"Oh, is this for Komaeda?"

Yesterday morning, Nidai had argued on Hajime's behalf that he couldn't be the traitor. As appreciative as Hajime had been to have someone wholeheartedly believe in him, Nidai wasn't a good debater. 

And he had inadvertently shot his own foot when he had proclaimed that they didn't need to worry about the traitor anymore. 

"Huh? And why's that?" Saionji had inquired, tilting her head. 

"Because he's already tied up somewhere!" Nidai had announced. 

Everyone had taken a moment to process that. Sonia had tentatively figured out that he had meant Komaeda, who had still remained absent throughout the day, to which Nidai had shouted, "Who else could the traitor be?"

"So...you tied up Komaeda and hid him somewhere," Hajime had pieced together, voice slow.

Nidai had paused, and then had cried out , "Oh craaaap! Souda, what the hell are we gonna do?"

"You idiot! You're gonna blow my cover—!" Souda then had cut himself off with a panicked shriek of his own. 

Needless to say, both Nidai and Souda had worked together in subduing Komaeda and throwing him into the old building, the very place where Byakuya had died in, so that Komaeda could "reflect on his wrongdoings." Hajime had doubted that Komaeda would even do such a thing.

Which, back to the present, made him arrive to this question: Why was Koizumi pushing the tray into his arms?

"Well, it’s like we said yesterday… If we just leave him there, he’ll die of starvation," Koizumi said with a sheepish smile. "And how long are we going to keep this up, anyway?"

"Right..." Hajime narrowed his eyes. "You want me to give this to him."

"Look, I know what you're thinking, but don't think that I'm just shoving tasks for you to do just because I don't want to. I'm not irresponsible like how a lot of you boys are." The girl frowned and crossed her arms. "For your information, I did try to give him breakfast earlier."

"And you want to give him more food?" Hajime asked, confused. What, did Koizumi not feed Komaeda enough? Did she only give him scraps from her own plate? Because while Komaeda was deserving of punishment, that was inhumane. 

"No, that's not it! Ugh, just thinking about it makes me mad all over again," she groused. "I went over to the old building with rice, miso soup, and pickled radish—a nice meal to start the day, especially for someone as skinny as Komaeda. And you know what he said? He said that he didn't like what I brought him! That he preferred toast! I mean, what kind of Japanese person doesn't like rice and miso?"

"A psychopath, clearly." Which Hajime was sure that they could objectively classify Komaeda as one.

"Does that guy even realize the situation that he's in? As if he can make any complaints and demands!" Koizumi then sighed, composing herself. "That's why I want you to give this to him. He can't make me run around like I'm his servant. I won't stand for it."

Oh, and she could make Hajime do that in her stead? That aside... "You do realize that Komaeda hates me, right? He'd rather starve than eat anything that I give him."

"Quit whining and just do it! Jeez, man up, will you?"

"It's not a matter of me needing to 'man-up,'" Hajime countered, exasperated. "It's a matter of 'this is pointless because Komaeda's going to starve, anyway.'"

She rolled her eyes. "Then that's his problem. Just drop the tray in front of him; you don't have to hand-feed him or anything."

There were so many ways Hajime could respond to that. He could tell her to do it herself, that this could be her last act of "servitude" to Komaeda. He could call out on her hypocrisy.

He could lay it out plainly for her that Komaeda might as well just shrivel up and die because, once again, there was no way that hope-obsessed freak would touch what Hajime touched, especially anything for consumption. He could just outright refuse and walk away. 

Meanwhile, Hajime could reinforce the asshole persona that he was going for.

But instead, like an idiot, he said, "Fine."

Being an asshole was harder than he thought. Maybe he was just a saint through and through. He could be the Ultimate Saint if such a title existed. Or maybe he was the Ultimate Pushover. 

And so, Hajime, the newly-minted Ultimate Pushover, trundled towards the old building, dreading the inevitability of having to see Komaeda again. 

He walked up the steps to the porch until Monomi appeared before him. "You can't!" she cried. "The old building is under construction, so entry is forbidden!"

Hajime's brows furrowed. "Then why is Komaeda still inside?"

"Hwaha? H-how do you know that?" she sputtered nervously. 

He pursed his lips in thought. Hajime might be a pushover, but Monomi was an even bigger pushover. No doubt that Souda and Nidai had bought her cooperation with pretty words, like "trust" and "friendship." In fact, she would just simply grant Hajime entry even without his prompting, and that was something that he could evade if he acted fast. 

"Construction, you say? Oh, gee, what a shame," Hajime said. "If that's the case, then there's nothing that I can do. I'll take my leave."

"Wait, what's that you got there, Hinata-kun?"

Damn it. 

After a wasted minute of Hajime giving evasive answers to Monomi's never-ending inquiries, he finally settled on giving her the truth, to which Monomi replied, "Oh, why didn't you just say so?"

And then she gasped. "But wait! I—I can't let anyone in...!"

"Then I guess that you should be the one to give this to—"

"Then again," the stupid pink rabbit backtracked, placing a paw over her mouth, "if it means fostering feelings of friendship among your peers, then how can your sensei stand in your way?"

Hajime's face fell, not that Monomi saw it. She was too busy getting ecstatic over theoretical friendships (with Komaeda of all people) to notice. Not even the face of despair could stop her from insisting that all would be well with the power of friendship. On one hand, that kind of determination was impressive; on the other hand, what an idiot. 

Monomi stepped aside and bid Hajime good luck before disappearing. 

Yeah. Luck. Just what he needed. Luck to combat Komaeda's shitty luck.

With a heavy sigh, Hajime stepped inside and walked down the halls.

* * *

Hajime stood before the door that separated Komaeda from the world, sweat dotting his brow. He felt as though he was Pandora about to open the forbidden box; the only difference was that he was hardly tempted to open anything. 

Okay, he needed a game plan. First, enter the room; second, drop the food in front of Komaeda; third, run away. Good. Great. A solid plan. 

Hajime wanted to tear his hair out. Why the hell was he so anxious in seeing the asshole? He was tied up, wasn't he? What was the worst that Komaeda could possibly do? Other than open his mouth, that was. (Which was pretty bad.)

Tentatively, Hajime wrapped his hand around the knob, twisted it, and pushed the door forward. His eyes landed on the carpet a few feet ahead of him, and then his gaze slowly coasted further along until a pair of shoes entered his periphery—

"Oh, how awful," Komaeda said cheerfully. He didn't bother lifting his head from his lying position. "You're here."

Hajime stiffened. "And so are you," he returned tightly. 

"Where did Koizumi-san go? Don't tell me that she made you—"

Hajime's legs quickly ate up the distance between him and Komaeda. He leaned down to deposit the tray, sprang back up to his full height, and ducked and rolled out of there as though the room had spontaneously caught on fire. 

Hajime didn't know why he tended to default to ducking and rolling whenever Komaeda was involved, but he chalked it up to be some sort of deep primal instinct ingrained to him by his forefathers who had probably had to deal with the same kind of bullshit. 

"Wait, Hinata-kun! Aren't you going to feed me?" Komaeda's plaintive whining chased after him, and just hearing Komaeda utter something so _uncharacteristic_ of him made Hajime sputter out an incredulous laugh. 

Hajime poked his head through the opening, meeting Komaeda's hopeful stare. 

"Only if you say that Reserves and Ultimates are equally worthy," he said. 

"I'd rather choke on my tongue and suffocate," Komaeda declared with a beam. 

Hajime flipped him off before striding away. 

Ha, maybe Hajime wasn't so much of a saint, after all. 


	6. Chapter 6

There was an art to detective work, Hajime realized. It wasn't just a matter of scrounging up any details that seemed incriminating, but also being able to string together a cohesive story with said details. And sometimes, when the evidence wasn't available, one must fill in the gaps with plausible theories. 

The first trial had been reliant on that—details and speculations. And possessing good memorization had been important too, which had been to Hajime's good fortune that he had been able to recall relevant information pertaining to Byakuya's demise. 

Another thing to learn, Hajime thought as Saionji broke down crying, was to avoid justifying why someone was the culprit with evidence rather than using the evidence to determine the culprit. That and the use of scapegoats.

Unlike Hanamura's murder, the death of Koizumi had been a premeditated affair. The planted gummy, the forged letters in the mailboxes, Saionji waking up in the beach house... All this in mind of redirecting everyone's attention to the wrong person. 

Perhaps a clever ruse in planning, but not in execution. For one, the killer had neglected to cover a few key points when pinning the blame on Saionji.

One, Saionji had fled the beach house without a speck of blood on her person; two, Saionji didn't eat yellow gummies as the red herring had suggested; three, Saionji couldn't tie her obi on her own. The last one meant that there was no way that she washed away the blood that she could have gotten on herself and then put her clothes back on. 

An argument that had been strongly propounded by Kuzuryuu. In fact, Kuzuryuu had been aiming at Saionji in the whole duration, painting her as the only possible suspect. However, as the trial had progressed, the person who had been making himself appear culpable had been Kuzuryuu himself, reinforced by the outright volatility that his behavior had become. 

But never did Hajime suspect that Pekoyama would have been directly involved in the murder until he had recounted all the events. 

When Pekoyama had explained what her relationship with Kuzuryuu was, Hajime reflected on how the past could be the right catalyst for driving anyone into doing anything.

Koizumi had died because she had played the role of the accomplice to the murderer of Kuzuryuu's sister. Pekoyama had killed because her loyalty to Kuzuryuu had ensured that he would live past this trial. Hanamura had killed because of his concern for his sick mother. Vengeance and love, death and survival—just how entrenched were they in their secrets?

Just how much was Hajime missing about his past? Kuzuryuu hadn't known that his own younger sister had died by the hands of another, nor had he known that he had stained his own hands in revenge; he had to find out by Monokuma's game machine. Koizumi hadn't known that she had protected a killer; that had been disclosed by none other than Monokuma himself. Were they to discover these horrid truths as the days would come and go?

That terrified Hajime. If learning about themselves could either spur someone to kill or reveal the terrible actions committed by them, then he would rather have everyone close their eyes and plug their ears. At what lengths would anyone go with just the right motivation?

And what about Hajime? As much as he liked to think that he was exempt from the psycho bear's manipulations, he didn't think that his status as a Reserve could spare him from the troubles that the Ultimates were all facing. 

Perhaps that was why he was here—he too had skeletons in his closet. As to what, he loathed to find out. And if he was that fearful of the truth, then he supposed that it was a good thing that he had never aspired to be a detective in the first place, talent or not.

* * *

With four people deceased and Kuzuryuu in the hospital, the atmosphere had become despondent. And then tentatively optimistic after everyone had come to appreciate Saionji's super creepy memorial to Koizumi. And then crappy when Komaeda had waltzed into the restaurant, being his usual _fantastic_ self.

"Wow, this is a...very hopeless object," Komaeda had remarked, wrinkling his nose at the memorial. "It doesn't belong to a hopeful place like this at all. It's absolutely brimming with malice. Let's hurry up and destroy it. I can't stand to look at it for another second."

Granted, Tanaka hadn't been any better with his "barbaric, blasphemous, false idol" commentary, but, well, yeah, Komaeda. If Tanaka had been the only one to say anything, Saionji likely would have angrily snarled at him. Instead, she had burst into tears, which Hajime was eighty-five percent certain that Komaeda had been the cause. The utter bastard. 

With Komaeda running free from his imprisonment, Hajime was realizing just how peaceful things had been before the second trial. Sure, it had sucked being treated like he had been hiding a knife behind his back, what with everyone _still_ suspecting him to be the traitor, but that was nothing compared to now.

 _Now_ Hajime had to deal with them _and_ Komaeda, and that automatically moved the situation from sucky to shitty. 

For one, Komaeda kept reminding him and his classmates just how untalented and unremarkable Hajime was. After all, he was a Reserve, and Reserves were the leeches of Hope's Peak and so on and so forth. 

Ugh. Why did they let him go? They should throw him back into the old building and chain the door. And why didn't they get the Ultimate Warden instead of a traitor? That way, someone could stand keeping an eye on Komaeda. Or would it be better to have someone else taking Komaeda's place?

No, actually, it would have been better if someone had taken Hajime's place. That way, he wouldn't have to put up with this nonsense!

It came as an unexpected relief when Monomi showed up after breakfast, cutting off what else Komaeda had felt was necessary to say. 

"Well, once again, I've defeated another Monobeast!" she announced proudly, beaming at the crowd. "How do you like me now? I worked hard, didn't I?"

"Then that means another island for us to explore," Hajime said.

"Ding ding ding!"

"Isn't that wonderful? More areas for us to cover so that we may learn more about our captors!" Komaeda enthused. He then dramatically deflated. "Ah, it's just so disappointing that we can't just ask them why we're here. Isn't that right, Hinata-kun?"

Hajime's eye twitched. 

"Um, uh, um." Monomi helplessly jerked her arms up and down, visibly struggling in finding what to say. Finally, she burst out, "N-no! There's no need to do that! You don't need to find a way out! All you need to do is stay here and be friends!"

"How do you expect us to stay here when there's a killing game going on?" Souda cried out incredulously. "Jeez, how many times are we going to go over this?"

"Hmph. It dawns upon me with utmost clarity that this pink creature is not only an ally to Monokuma but the World Ender organization itself," sneered Tanaka. 

"Yeah, that's the group that kidnapped us and brought us here," Saionji joined in, scowling at Monomi. "You must be more of a pig than a rabbit because we'll make you squeal out the answers one way or another!"

"Heh, I like the sound of that," Owari piped up, cracking her knuckles. 

Monomi recoiled fearfully. "Wha-wha-wha! I can't—! I can't say! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...!" She shook her head fervently as she cupped her face with her paws. "Hwahah. This is the tragedy of the middle management!" With that, she fled, vanishing seconds before anyone could react.

"She ran away again!" Mioda huffed. "She's always like this when things get inconvenient for her."

"Yes, it is a shame that we couldn't get a proper answer from her. I wonder if there's someone else who we can hear from," Komaeda mused aloud. "Isn't that right, Hinata-kun? Hm? Hinata-kun...?"

"Hinata, put the chair down now!" Nidai hastily cut across the room. 

* * *

So, as it was, with Nidai being Hajime's coach-slash-babysitter, the students were ready to head on out.

But the Hinata-Nidai duo couldn't venture out until Hinata was done strangling an imaginary Komaeda who was unfortunately made out of air. Unsatisfied, Hinata settled with grumbling a string of expletives that would assuredly render his mother wholly scandalized. 

Nidai pinned him a pitiful look. 

"Hinata, man, you gotta learn how to steel yourself around Komaeda. It's obvious that the guy's not gonna quit until you crack. And by crack, I mean crack for real."

"Easy for you to say," Hajime snapped, narrowing his eyes at the taller boy. "You're not the one who's constantly being hassled for being a Reserve! Heck, you wouldn't understand what it's like being someone as ordinary and boring as me, and then get looked down on just because I was never blessed with innate abilities."

Objectively, Hajime knew that it wasn't fair for him to take it out on Nidai. Was it Nidai's fault that he happened to be an Ultimate whereas Hajime wasn't? Was it Nidai's fault that Hajime had been discriminated against due to his lack of gifts? Of course not, but Nidai had made himself an available target for Hajime to vent out his problems. 

"You don't know what it's like to try so, so hard, only to come up with _nothing_ ," Hajime seethed. "And I've tried everything! Cooking, sports, art, academics—I gave it my all, and yet I can never do more than just average! It's like there's a low-hanging ceiling on what I can do, stopping me from being better than—than how I actually am.

"Everyone always has to point that out as though I'm not fully aware of it. And, to make matters worse, Komaeda has made it his mission to give me grief about applying to the Reserve Course. I know that it's nigh impossible for me to attain a talent, but can't I just have some hope that I can?"

Hajime spat out the last sentence with such vitriol that he hadn't realized how hard he was breathing. He hadn't even realized that Nidai was just standing there, taking it all in neutrally despite Hajime's hissy fit. Suddenly, Hajime felt weariness crashing down on him. His shoulders dropped and he released a long exhale. 

"You know what? Forget about it," he sighed, looking away. There was a feeling of embarrassment trickling in from having exposed himself. "It's nothing. Let's just go—"

"Hinata!" Nidai boomed so abruptly that Hajime jumped from where he stood. 

"Wh-what—?"

Two meaty hands grabbed his shoulders, pinning him in place as the palms encompassed the balls of his joints. Nidai thrust his face into Hajime's periphery until he could see nothing but the fiery blaze of the manager's eyes.

"Don't tell me to forget about it!" Nidai shouted, spittle flying out of his mouth. Hajime cringed. "Not when you poured your heart and soul into saying what you had to say! And you wanted to say it, didn't you? No, in fact, I'm sure that there's more than you want to let out and scream at the sky!"

Hajime opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again—

Nidai stepped back, not yet relinquishing his hold on Hajime. Then, in a much calmer voice, he said, "While we haven't known each other for very long, I got a pretty good idea of the type of person you are. You remind me of this kid who I used to manage. He was a super awesome soccer player who made the sickest kicks, but he wasn't without problems of his own. 

"On the outside, he was cool and composed; on the inside, he was a total wreck! Expectations were weighing down on the guy and he felt like he had to juggle them on his own." Nidai breathed in and out, briefly closing his eyes before opening them again. "One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't push hard enough to get him to open up and rely on me. I was his manager! I was supposed to help him! But he kept insisting that he was fine and that he could handle everything himself.

"But he wasn't fine. No one took the time to understand what he was going through, and, eventually, the kid crashed and burned. He...got into an accident mid-game and had to quit playing soccer. I never saw him after that. I don't even know what happened to him."

Hajime gaped. He hadn't thought that Nidai could make mistakes like that. Weren't the Main Course students supposed to be infallible when it came to their ultimate abilities?

"You're right; I don't know what you're going through," Nidai conceded, "but I can at least try to see from your perspective. I don't want you to dismiss your feelings or keep bottling them up. That's what the kid, and he ended up making mistakes because he had no one to lean on."

"But—but no one expects anything from me," Hajime sputtered. "I'm just the Reserve; I have no talent—"

"Your biggest critic, Hinata," Nidai intoned seriously, "is yourself."

Hajime stared at him, eyes wide. 

The rest of the Ultimates had departed, leaving Nidai to watch over Hajime until his anger had run its course. Yet now with only the two of them here, with neither of them saying a word, the area surrounding them was so quiet that it seemed surreal. There was a distant brushing of leaves from the wind passing through the trees, and, if Hajime strained his ears, the crashing of waves from the shore, but that was it. 

Hajime broke the silence with a question. "Why do you believe in me?" he whispered.

Nidai blinked. "What?"

"Why do you believe in me?" he asked, louder this time. "Wouldn't it be easier to doubt me? I could really be working for the World Ender for all you know."

"Well," Nidai began, finally releasing Hajime to cross his arms, "are you?"

"No, but—"

"Then there you have it."

"It's not that easy!" Hajime shouted. He knew that Nidai was simple, but he couldn't be _this_ simple! "You can't just take someone's word for it. I could be lying!"

"But you're not," Nidai said resolutely. The finality in his tone was jarring enough that Hajime just could not process it. How could someone have that much faith in a person when they had only known each for a handful of days? When each of them was possibly mired in secrets and treachery? Just look at what happened to those who had died! 

"I think you're forgetting that I'm a team manager, Hinata. That not only means that I have to assess people's physicality but also their mentality. How hard can they be pushed, how much can they handle—I gotta know all that. Trust me when I say that I've learned my lesson back then." 

After grimacing, Nidai shook his head and caught Hajime's gaze. "Seeing you put your effort in every investigation, work with others in the trials, and manage to deal with the situation despite how unfair it is, I can confidently say that you're no traitor," he continued. "You're a good guy, Hinata. You put in your all, and that's what I really like about you. I don't care if you're not an Ultimate, and screw anyone who thinks that talents are the most important thing in the world! That shit doesn't mean anything if you don't put your heart into anything!"

"Nidai..."

"Besides, even if you're not the Ultimate Detective or the Ultimate Prosecutor or whatever, you're one of the few who can figure out these murders and solve the trials! I can never do that—most of us can't! You're smart, dedicated, hardworking. Most importantly, you don't give up, and that's the bravest thing that I've ever seen." Nidai smiled. "Don't listen to Komaeda or anyone else who tells you otherwise."

Hajime thickly swallowed. "I... Yeah, okay."

"We good here?"

Hajime nodded. "Yeah, we're good."

"Great! Now let's get out of here before Monokuma shows up and rains on our parade," Nidai exclaimed. That enough should have summoned the bear, and yet, shockingly, there was no sign of Monokuma. Hajime's eyes darted around the area in case Monokuma was hiding anywhere. Nothing. 

"Oi, Hinata, you coming?"

"Huh? O-oh, right." Hajime hurried after Nidai who had already gone ahead of him. When he reached Nidai's side, the taller boy companionably slapped his back (unintentionally pitching Hajime forward with his strength). 

Hajime righted himself up (after wincing because _oww_ ) and looked up at Nidai. If he had to be honest, he hadn't expected Nidai of all people to give him the encouragement that he needed. It was...strange in a way. Hajime had thought that Nidai would have been settled for physically training him; however, the manager had decided to go beyond that. 

And...Hajime was grateful.

"Hey, Nidai."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Nidai grinned down at him. "I told you before, didn't I? I'm not only your team manager but also your friend! And friends give it to 'em straight when needed!"

Nidai truly was a wonderful friend. So wonderful that he threw his body in front of Monokuma's rocket launcher to protect Owari the next day. 

Brave had been what Nidai had called Hajime. But if anyone was brave around here, it would be Nidai. A person willing to sacrifice oneself to save another was an act of intrepidity that Hajime could never be able to muster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I set myself up for Hinata-Nidai friendship in Chapter 1.


End file.
